UConn, Purdue top AP men's college basketball poll; Kansas slides to 7 - ESPN

The same two teams remained at the top of the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll amid another week of upheaval, with teams bouncing around like kernels in a popcorn maker.

Reigning national champion UConn remained No. 1, receiving 44 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 Purdue got 17 first-place votes.

A loss by Kansas jumbled the rest of the top five, with No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Tennessee all moving up a spot by sweeping two games each last week.

The Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 7 following a 91-85 loss to West Virginia that ended their six-game winning streak in the series.

UConn moved to the top of the poll last week for the first time in 15 years.

The Huskies opened the week with a lopsided win over No. 17 Creighton in David Clingan's return from a right foot injury. UConn then edged Villanova 66-65 in a physical game that had coach Dan Hurley talking about jujitsu, Muay Thai and UFC fighting.

First-place votes in parenthesis:

«When you get ranked No. 1 — coach talked about it the entire week — it's like a temporary belt,» UConn's Alex Karaban said. «You've got to continue to protect the belt, protect the heavyweight championship.»

The Boilermakers opened their week with an 87-66 rout of rival Indiana and followed with a 14-point win over Iowa. Purdue big man Zach Edey had another dominating week, finishing with 33 points and 14 rebounds against Indiana, and 30 points and 18 rebounds against Iowa.

«It's just different with him,» Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. «When he gets deep position, it's hard [to defend him].»

North Carolina had a precipitous fall from the poll last season, dropping out a month after being preseason No. 1.

The Tar Heels have moved in the